Haiti boosts vaccine access with solar power
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In 2017, Haiti began replacing kerosene and gas-powered vaccine refrigerators with solar-powered units to address unreliable electricity and fuel shortages.
Before the switch, health workers in northern Haiti struggled with expensive and vulnerable refrigeration systems, especially in remote areas. Over the next three years, UNICEF installed more than 850 solar refrigerators across the country, allowing for vaccine storage in smaller facilities and easier transport to vaccination sessions. This change improved vaccine access for families in rural and mountainous regions.
One mother in the Nord department previously walked two to three hours to reach a hospital, but after a solar refrigerator was installed nearby, the vaccination site became a ten-minute walk. Haiti was the first country to use the Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform to upgrade its vaccine refrigeration systems. By 2021, UNICEF had installed over 920 solar refrigerators, equipping 96% of Haiti’s health institutions with the technology.
In the North department, vaccination coverage increased from 73.6% in 2017 to 86% by the end of 2018, though UNICEF notes this increase likely resulted from improvements across the entire immunization system, not just the refrigerators.
